The Royal Court has taken up residence at Northwood High School. There’s an Opening for a Princess—Prince Dauntless is looking for a wife, and a most unlikely candidate has shown up. Join the gallant knights and their ladies faire, the minstrel, the jester, a magician, and the Royal Family to find out if this unusual princess can pass the test, when the Northwood High School Arts Education Department presents Once Upon a Mattress, March 30, 31, and April 1 at 7pm in the evening.

This zany retelling of Hans Christian Anderson’s, The Princess and the Pea has music composed by Mary Rodgers (daughter of Richard), with book & lyrics by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer. The 1959 production made a Broadway star of the young Carol Burnett. This 2017 version is a “revival” for NHS, having also mounted a popular production in 2006.

Northwood’s Director Kayla Sharp has assembled a host of talented young performers for this fairy tale classic. In addition to the musical, these busy actors, musicians, technicians, and designers are also participating in choral and band competitions, spring art shows and dance concerts, individual voice competitions, even auditions for NC School of the Arts. Several have been cast in the upcoming Playmakers Repertory Summer Conservatory production of Bye Bye Birdie. And many are also members of Northwood’s award-winning a cappella ensemble, Pitch Please. They leave on April 6 for an exciting trip as featured performers at Carnegie Hall with a cappella groups from across the country in Total Vocal.

March is Theatre in Our Schools Month (and in fact Arts in Our Schools Month—a national celebration of not only school theatre, but music, dance and visual arts as well). Don’t miss this fun show for the whole community. It’s a great way to introduce young children to live theatre, catch up on a classic production you may have heard about but never seen, and support arts education in our public schools.